The Technics of Axonometry Through a Worm's Eyes

An enquiry into the state and potential of architectural representation in the post-orthographic age

Student report (2023)

Authors

B. Kerekes Architecture and the Built Environment

Contributors

E. Korthals Altes History, Form & Aesthetics - Architecture and the Built Environment (mentor)
Faculty
Architecture and the Built Environment, Architecture and the Built Environment
Copyright: © 2023 Bálint Kerekes
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Published Date

20-04-2023

Language

English

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Faculty

Architecture and the Built Environment

Abstract

This paper is an investigation into the role axonometry holds in architectural representation. As Stan Allen describes, there is something pervasive in how axonometries can be filtered though literally any kind of reference – this essay is an attempt to trace them back in history to their origins. In order to reveal the ideas they stem from, worm's eye axonometric case studies are analysed, a projection which is said to be closest to architectural thought.
Working with the axiom that the technics of production are definitive of the cognitive framework of the architectural process, concepts such as orthography, post-orthography, pseudo-orthography, and the kind of time and space axonometries are being conceived in are of central importance. The aim of the paper is to raise awareness of the technological framework of contemporary architectural labour, and to suggest different modes of practice through the analysis of the effect of technics on the intervening mediums of architecture.
A closer look at the history of axonometry reveals how intertwined it is with our conception of space; in this regard, the virtual space of computers can be seen as the continuation of the space of descriptive geometry in the enlightement. A greater awareness and appropriation of digital technics, however, is indispensable for the success of the discipline: internally, adapting architecture's representational conventions could lead to less time wasted and thus better working conditions, while externally, a better engagement with the virtual is needed to regain its spatial-sociological agency.